Machine for cutting the pile of weft-pile fabrics



June 14, 1932. E. CARMICHAEL MACHINE FOR CUTTING THE FILE OF WEFT PILE FABRICS Filed July 9. 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet A TTORNEXS June 14, 1932.

E. CARMICHAEL MACHINE FOR CUTTING THE FILE OF WEFT PTLE FABRICS Filed July 9, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 14, 1932. I HA L 1,863,006

MACHINE FOR CUTTING THE FILE OF WEFT FILE FABRICS Filed July 9, 1931 s Shets-Sheet 3 1 Fig. 3.

IN VENTOR ATTORN75 Patented June 14, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EDFORD OAR/MICHAEL, F WARRINGTON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOB. OF ONE-HALF TO THE '7 UNITED VELVET CUTTERS ASSOCIATION, LIMITED, OF MANCHESTER, ENGLAND MACHINE FOR CUTTING THE FILE 0 WEFT-PILE FABRICS Application filed July 9, 1931, Serial No. 549,786, and in Great Britain July 11, 1930.

The invention relates to machines for cutting the pile of weft-pile fabrics, of the type in which the fabric in endless form is traversed past a stationary knife, carried by a holder which is fed laterally by means ofa screw in order that the knife may operate on successive races from edge to edge of the fabric.

The invention has for its principal object to provide an improved weft-pile cutting machine of the type referred to, in which the organization or arrangement of the elements or mechanisms constituting the machine will be such as to enable a considerable increase in production to be effected.

Further objects of the invention, and which contribute to the attainment of the main object above referred to, include the provision of improved means for arresting the travel of the fabric in the event of a stoppage being called for due to an abnormality in connection with the cutting, or to the end of a race being reached; the provision of improved means for ensuring that on occurrence of a stoppage the stretch of fabric on which the cutting is taking place is maintained properly taut ready for recommencement of cutting; and the provision of improved means for passing back the fabric, after it has passed the cutting position, towards the feeding or entering position.

The main feature characterizing the improved machine is that instead of the fabric being traversed beneath the cutting knife in a substantially horizontal path, as has hitherto almost invariably been the case, it is caused to pass from an overhead roller to a lower roller so disposed in relation to the upper one that there is constituted between the two rollers a stretch of fabric inclining at a suitable angle from the vertical. The rollers are driven to traverse the fabric downwardly and means are provided to retard the passage of fabric over the upper rollerso that the stretch of fabric referred to is under suitable general tension, additional local tension being provided in the usual manner by passing about the lower roller, beneath the fabric and in alignment with the cutting point, an endless belt of relatively narrow width, such belt being traversed laterally in synchronism with the lateral movement of the cutting knife. The member carrying the cutting knife is pivotal about and movable 7 along an axis disposed suitably above the upper roller and is so located that the usual holder for the knife guide bears against the face of the inclined cutting stretch of the fabric, at a point suitably adjacent the upper in the fabric at which the abnormality occurred has reached the bottom roller. The operative is thus enabled to examine the fabric and restore normal conditions Without any reversal of the machine and with much greater ease than in a machine of the usual construction, in which the cutting stretch is horizontal. It will be apparent that in a machine of the said usual construction it is necessary for the cutting point to be located some distance towardsthe rear of the ma chine if the point in thefabric at which cut ting abnormality occurs is not to be carried past the usual front'roller before the travel of the fabric is stopped. The cutting point is thus somewhat inaccessible to the operative both from the point of view of visual supervision and of reaching the knife for the purpose of shifting it from one race to the next or of replacing it in a race from which it may have jumped or become deflected. Further more,notwithstanding this somewhat inaccessible location of the knife the means hitherto provided to arrest the travel of the fabric have not sufi iced to stop the fabric until the fault has reached such a position as to render reversal of the machine necessary. These defects are entirely obviated in the improved machine, the knife being more con veniently located and reversal of the machine to restore normal cutting conditions after stoppage due 'to cutting abnormality being,

as before mentioned, rendered unnecessary.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the relevant parts of a machine constructed according to and embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the machine, that is to say looking in the direction of the arrow A, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial side elevation of the machine from the opposite side of Fig. 1, and shows the method of driving certain of the parts; and

Fig. 4t is a detail hereinafter referred to.

Referring to the drawings the fabric F is led up from an inclined receiving tray 1, and passed frontwardly about a tension roller 2 adjacent an overhead roller 3, such overhead roller being driven in known manner through a friction and ratchet device 4 which enables the belt 5, by which drive is conveyed to the roller, to continue moving when rotation of the roller 3 is prevented. An electro-magnetic brake 6, referred to again later, is provided in connection with the roller 3.

A bar or rod 7 is provided adjacent the roller 3 on the front side thereof, and after having been led over the roller and such bar or rod the fabric is led down in an inclined path as shown to a lower front roller 8, which is controlled by a combined electromagnetic clutch 9 and brake 9 which will also be referred to again later. After passing beneath the lower roller 8 the fabric is led over a guide roller 10 and between the latter and a revolving brush 12, to fall on to the upper end of the inclined receiving tray 1.

The lower roller 8 is driven from any suitable source such as an electric motor.

A screw 13, of suitable pitch and j ournalled at its ends in members attached to the side frames 14, 14 of the machine, has mounted upon it a nut block 15 to which is pivotally attached, so as to be capable of swinging thereon, a rod or tube 16. The lower or opposite end of this rod or tube has pivotally attached to it an arm 17 carrying detachably a knife holder and guide 18 in known manner, a spring 19 being provided also in known mannerto act upon the arm 17 and tend to swing it in a direction to carry the knife away from the fabric. A magnet 20 carried by an insulated attachment 21 on the rod or tube 16 is adapted, when exerted, to attract an armature on the pivoted arm 17 and to hold the knife in cutting position against the action of he spring mentioned.

The nut block 15 on the overhead screw 13 forms a pivot about which the rod or tube 16 can swing in a vertical plane, and the angular weight of the rod or tube and of the parts carried thereby causes a bearer 22 on the rod or tube to rest upon the surface of the downwardly inclined stretch of fabric and position the knife relative to the fabric when the arm is in cutting position.

An endless belt 23 passes about the lower front roller 8 beneath the fabric opposite the cutting point and imparts local tension to the stretch being cut. This belt passes at its rear part about a pulley 24 carried by a member 25 depending from a nut block 26 on a traverse screw 27, and a bridle 28 journalled on the pivot pin of the pulley 24 is connected by a spring 29 to a nut block 30 on another traverse screw 31. The two screws 27 and 31 correspond in pitch to the overhead screw 13 on which the knife rod or tube 16 is carried, and the three screws are connected by a common endless chain 32, see Fig. 3, so that the endless belt 23 is traversed synchronously with the lateral traverse of the knife. A hand wheel 33 fast on the screw 27 enables all three screws to be turned together to traverse the knife rod or tube 16' and belt 23.

. The combined electro-magnetic clutch and brake 9 and 9 by which the lower front roller 8 is controlled is operated as follows :A foot bar 34, pivoted at 3 1, has pivoted to it the lower end of a rod or wire 35, and the upper end of this rod or wire is fashioned to provide a slot 35 in which registers a pin on a contact arm 86 pivoted at 36. A contact member carried by this arm is adapted to form the armature of a magnet 37 arranged in circuit with the magnet 20 which is adapted to hold the knife in cutting position.

The contact arm 36 is adapted to swing over a series of contacts 38 supplying current to the combined clutch and brake 9 and 9 and a spring 39 acts on the arm in a direction to cause it to make contact with the upper contact of the series 38, in which position current is cut off from the clutch but is supplied to the brake. Depression of the contact arm 36 causes the brake current to be cut off and current to be supplied to the clutch, the passage of the arm 36 over the successive contacts of the series 38 controlling resistances of successively increasing values to permit the clutch to come gradually into operation. iVhen fully depressed the contact arm 36 is attracted and held by the magnet 37 so long as the circuit through such magnet is completed. If, however, the circuit is broken through abnormality in the cutting (suitable means being associated with the knife holder to cause the circuit through the knife holding magnet 20 to be broken on occurrence of any such abnormality) or by operation of the usual stop device 40 when the end of each race is reached, the contact arm is released by its holding magnet and is flung by its spring to the position in which current is cut off from the clutch 9 and is supplied to the brakes 9. The circuit including the magnets 20 and 37 is independent of those for the clutch and brake, which are themselves also independent.

The circuit through the electro-magnetic brake 6 for the upper frontroller 3'is also controlledby the contactarm36. As the contact arm commences to'move downwardly, to put the clutch 9into.action, it engages a contact 38 (see Fig. 4) sodisposed that the engagement is effected before the arm has left the upper one of the series of-contacts 38. The contact 38 is designed to close a circuit adapted to pass through the brake 6 a cur rent of relatively low strength. When the contact arm is in its top position both the brakes 9 and 6 are. fully applied. As the arm begins to move downwardly, the main current is cut off from the top brake and the bottom roller 8 commences to be revolved. During such commencement ofrotation of the bottom roller, however, the top brake. is still applied by the low power current, with the result that the stretch of fabric between the rollers 3 and 8 is drawn taut. As the contact arm descends further, to increase the speed of the lower roller 8, it moves clear of the contact 38 and the top brake 6 is fully released. hen the contact arm is released by the magnet 37 and is moving upwardly it engages the contact 38 and causes the low power current to operate the top brake before the lower'roller ceases to be driven and its brake is appliedyand when the arm reaches its top position the main current is supplied to both brakes. The cutting stretch of fabric is thus always maintained taut.

To assist in the maintaining taut of thecutting stretch of fabric, a pivotallymounted transverse bar 41 havinga yielding en gaging surface is adapted to be pressed by a spring 42 against the back of the fabric as the latter passes about a roller 43 onits way to the tension roller 2; The pivot of the bar 41 carries a lever 44 one arm of which is acted uponby the spring 42 whilst the other arm is connected to one end of a rod 45 whose other end is hooked to form a slot 45 to engage the pin on the contact arm, the position of the hook or the lower end of the slot being such that when the contact arm is being lowered to put into action the clutch,

the rod 45 is not pulled upon to' release the fabric until the bottom roller 8 has com The bar 41 maintains its menced to rotate. gripping pressure against the fabric until the commencement of rotation of the bottom roller has drawn the fabric taut, the continued descent of the contact arm to rotate the lower roller at speed then drawing'upon the rod 45 and swinging the bar 41 to inoperative position.

When the foot bar is released, after having been depressed to move the contact arm down into engagement with the magnet 37, the slots 85 and 45' in the connect-ions 35 and 45 respectively, permit the bar to return to normal raised position and to leave the contact arm attracted by the magnet. It has been stated that the fabric, after passing about the lower roller 8 and guide rollers 10.and,1-1, and having been acted upon by the rotating brush 12, drops on to the upper end of an inclined receiving tray 1, on which-it collects in folds. To ensure the collected fabric passing down the tray, I provide a series of members 46 adapted to eX- tend through and work in longitudinal slots in the top end of the tray. The members 46 are carried by a part 47 which is mounted pivotally between the side frames of the machinefand is connected by a rod 48 with a crankarm 49 on a rotating disc 50. Each member 46 has pivotally connected to it a bar such as 51, the rear end of which rests and slidesupon a transverse cross bar 52. As the members 46 are swung rearwardly, the rear end'sof the bars 51 ride up on the cross bar 52 and their front ends are elevated. The rearward movement of the bars thus causes the fabric resting in the tray to be raised and carried rearwardly down the tray, the bars as they move forward again being lowered and depositing the fabric in the posi-' tion to which it has been moved.

The point at which the cutting knife engages the fabric is so disposed in relation to mechanisms are so designed, that when the machine 2 is being stopped the fabric is brought to rest before the end of the cut portion (or the join of the fabric as the-case may be) has reached the level of the lower roller. The placing of the cutting knife into a new race, or its replacement into the race being out can thus be performed without any turning back of the fabric.

' An upward projection 53 from the nut block 26 is bent rearwardly over the rod 7 to assist in placing additional tension on the portion of fabric being cut, such projection 53 being traversed along the rod synchronously with'the movements of the endless belt 23 and of the cutting knife. 7

The details of construction and arrangement of the parts employed in the several cooperating mechanisms are capable of modi-' fication from the particular embodiment illust rated, so long of course as the downwardly-inclined path of the cutting stretch of fabric and the position relative thereto in which the knife rod or tube is mounted are preserved.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new'and desire to secure by Letters Patent is a 1. In a'machine for cutting weft-pile, an upper roller and a lower roller about which the fabric is passed. the lower roller being so set in relation to theupper that the stretch of fabric between them inclines downwardly and forwardly, an overheadscrew on which a rod or tube is mounted pivotally and means for driving said screw, a cutting knife carried by an arm mounted pivotally on said rod or tube and adapted to engage the fabric at a point adjacent the upper end of the inclined stretch, and means operative in case of abnormality in connection with the knife to withdraw the knife from the fabric and to stop the traverse of the latter before the point at which cutting stopped reaches the lower roller.

2. A machine according to claim 1 where in retention of the knife in cutting position and continued running of the machine depends upon continuity of an electric circuit, and wherein means are provided not only for breaking such circuit on occurrence of a cutting abnormality but also when the join between two portions of fabric is approaching the knife.

3. In a machine according to claim 1, an endless belt passing about the lower roller beneath the portion of fabric being cut and about a pulley carried by a part depending from a transverse screw, a bridle associated with said pulley being acted upon by a spring connected to a nut block on another transverse screw to hold said belt taut, and means being provided to rotate the two screws referred to synchronously with that on which the knife rod or tube is mounted.

4. In a machine according to claim 1, an endless belt passing about the lower roller beneath the portion of fabric being cut and about a pulley carried by a part depending from a transverse screw, a bridle associated with said pulley being acted upon by a spring connected to a nut block on another transverse screw to hold said belt taut, and an upward projection from the nut block from which the bridle pulley is suspended, said projection being bent rearwardly at its upper end over a transverse rod disposed adj acent the roller at the upper end of the cutting stretch for the purpose of co-operating with the endless belt to provide additional local tension on the portion of fabric being cut.

5. In a machine according to claim 1, a combined electro-magnetic clutch and brake controlling rotation of the lower roller about which the cutting stretch of fabric passes. the circuits through such clutch and brake being controlled by a contact arm operable by a pivoted foo'tbar.

6. In a machine according to claim 1, a combined electro-magnetic clutch and brake controlling rotation of the lower roller about which the cutting stretch of fabric passes, a contact arm operative to control the circuits through said clutch and brake, a pivoted foot bar operable to move said contact arm, and an electro-magnetic brake for the roller about which the fabric passes at the upper end of the cutting stretch, said last-named brake being also controlled by the contact arm in such a manner that when the clutch for driving the bottom roller is being put into action the main current is first cut off from the top brake and a relatively low-power current supplied to the said brake until such time as the lower roller has commenced to revolve slowly whereupon said low-power current is also cut off, whilst when the clutch is being put out of action the low-power current applies the top brake a short time before the clutch ceases to drive and is then cut off and the main current permitted to apply fully the brakes for both'the top and bottom rollers.

7. In a machine according to claim 1, a combined electro-magnetic clutch and brake adapted to control rotation of the roller about which the fabric passes at the lower end of the cutting stretch, a contact arm controlling Y the circuits through said clutch and brake, a magnet designed to hold the contact arm in a position to drive the said lower roller at speed so long as cutting proceeds normally,

but to release said contact arm when an ab- 7 V normality occurs, and a spring operative on release of the contact arm to move the said arm to a position in which the clutch is withdrawn and the brake applied to the bottom roller, and a brake also applied to the roller about which the fabric passes at the upper end of the cutting stretch.

8. In a machine according to claim 1, a roller about which the fabric is passed on its Way to the upper end of the cutting stretch, a spring-actuated bar adapted to bear against said roller and apply braking-pressure to the fabric, means for controlling traverse of the fabric, and means operated by said control means whereby when the fabric is at rest or travelling slowly the bar is permitted to apply braking pressure to the fabric, and when the fabric is travelling quickly the said bar is moved to inoperative position.

9. In a machine according to claim 1, a guide roller and a rotating brush between which the fabric is led after having passed about the roller at the lower end of the cutting stretch, an inclined tray disposed beneath said brush on to the upper end of which the fabric is permitted to fall, longitudinal slots in the upper end of the base of said tray, and bars working in said slots, said bars being pivoted to a depending pivoted member to which frontward and rearward swinging movements are given, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

EDFORD CARMICHAEL. 

